In the mid-1800s, people in many parts of the word decided to leave their homes and emigrate to Texas. They left their homes in Europe because of crop failure, land and job shortages, rising taxes, and famine. Many immigrants came to the United States because it was seen as the land of economic opportunity. They came seeking personal freedom or freedom from persecution. Reasons that immigrants leave their home country is called push factors. Reasons that immigrants go a particular place are called pull factors. 

Many immigrants came to Texas because of the land.  The land in Texas had many natural resources and was cheap.  Texas grew as immigrants from Europe settled and created new towns and farms. In 1847, the population was around 140,000 people.  Thirteen years later the population was over 600,000! While a majority of the new Texans were Americans moving from Southern states, Europeans also came and brought their own traditions. 

When the European immigrants came to Texas, they usually settled in towns around each other in different parts of Texas. The Germans built Fredericksburg and New Braunsfels in Central Texas. The Polish built the town of Panna Maria.

Once they moved to Texas, immigrants looked for work. Many were farmers and ranchers. However, many immigrants moved into towns and became merchants, opening their own stores and providing services to other Texans.

All of these new immigrants brought new ideas that helped Texas grow. Their language, food, and traditions became an important part of Texas History. These newcomers helped create our current Texans society and culture. 

Source:  Reading taken from Social Studies Success

What is Assimilation?

The many immigrants to Texas brought their unique cultures with them. The people of Poland spoke Polish, the Germans knew how to make sauerkraut, the Norwegians built log homes like those they had built in Norway, the Japanese planted rice as they did in Japan, and the people of India built Hindu temples in Texas. As immigrants from different cultures made Texas home, many changed or lost some of the cultural traditions they brought with them. This process known as assimilation happens when people living together merge, or combine, their cultural traits. Through assimilation, some cultural traits are lost and others are adopted. People may change the way that they dress, the language that they speak and even the food that they eat based on the cultures of others they live near. Assimilation is not always an easy or welcomed process. Sometimes it happens by force because immigrants and their cultures are not accepted by the majority. Through political and social pressure, some groups have been forced to give up their language and other cultural traditions. The population of Texas today is one of great cultural diversity with more than 400 different cultural groups represented. Although many groups have assimilated and adopted other cultural traditions, the ongoing arrival of new citizens continues to create Texas anew, enriching us all.